I frowned. “So… where exactly am I sleeping tonight? Because I assumed it would be Karl’s place.”
“No.” A simple, uncomplicated response.
I raised my eyebrows. “No?”
“No,” he repeated. “You’re staying with me.”
“And Karl knows this?”
Stefan snorted. “He knew as soon as I told him yesterday.” He cupped my cheek. “We’ve spent enough time apart,” he said in a low voice. “I see no reason to continue doing so.”
“Okay.”
There was nothing else to say because I didn’t want anything else.
He peered at his phone and smiled. “Thank God. Our driver is one minute away. driving a silver Toyota.”
“You realise this is a significant escalation.”
“The arrival of our Uber?” He frowned. “In what way?”
I rolled my eyes. “Moving in together within minutes of seeing each other again.”
Stefan glanced at me. “You’re not moving in. You’re staying with me.”
I narrowed my gaze. “That sounds suspiciously like semantics.”
“It is precise.”
I bit back a smile. “Of course it is.”
The car pulled up in front of us, and Stefan placed my suitcase in the boot. Once we were safely stowed in the backseat and we were leaving the terminal behind us, his hand found mine again.
I shifted closer, my thumb brushing against his, the contact instinctive now, easy.
Stefan’s grip tightened, and I glanced at him. His gaze was fixed ahead for a moment before it flicked toward the driver, then back to me.
A signal, subtle but deliberate.
Deliberate.
“Later,” he said quietly.
Understanding clicked into place almost instantly. Different city, different spaces, different rules.
I nodded. “Later,” I echoed.
His thumb moved once against mine, something wordless passing between us. And then, as if nothing had shifted at all, he settled back in his seat, his hand still holding mine, the contact unchanged, just contained.
We sped along the motorway, heading towards the city, and my mind couldn’t let go of that one word, laced with intent.
Later.
“You did make a promise, you know,” I said quietly.
He looked at me. “What promise?”
I stared at the road ahead. “Something about making full use of your apartment.”